A massive winter storm is barreling across the central United States, causing mayhem on the roads and threatening to ruin many Americans' Christmas holiday plans.

The storm stretches as far north as Minnesota, along the Canadian border, to Texas in the south.

Freezing rain, snow and heavy winds are making driving conditions extremely dangerous in some states.

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning to remain in effect for many areas until Saturday, predicting up to 30 centimeters of snow in many northern locales. The warning says "life-threatening" weather conditions are expected and strongly discourages travel.

Americans on the east coast are just recovering from a major storm last week that dropped as much as 60 centimeters of snow in some areas, and caused widespread power outages.